KO. 15. 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



239 



Important to Farmers. 



At a late meeting- of the Hartford County 

 Temperance Society, the fuliowing- higlily 

 interesting fiicts were stated in the Report. 

 The value of apples is just beginning to be 

 known. The knowledge of their value is one 

 of the excellent discoveries of the Temper- 

 ance Reformation, and when it siiall have 

 been fully circulated and adopted by the 

 farmers of our country, the orchard will bo 

 regarded as one of the most profitable as well 

 as convenient appendages of the farm.— 

 Franklin Mercury. 



We copy from the Review and Telegraph. 



Joel Clark, Esq. of East Granby, in IbJi"), 

 for the first time, instituted an experiment 

 for testing the value of apples as food for 

 horses, and for fattening swine and beeves. 

 At this time he was altogether incredulous 

 upon the subject. The result was conclusive 

 proof to his own mind of their being decidedly 

 beneficial. The present year he has pursued 

 the same experiment vvitli precisely the same 

 results. Last year he slaughtered two hogs 

 which weighed a little over 400 lbs. each.— 

 Tills year he has slaughtered the same num- 

 ber, a smaller sized animal, one weighing 

 348, the other 328. They were fed in both 

 cases exclusively on raw apples, sour and 

 sweet promiscuously, until a short period be- 

 fore being butchered, and the pork is of the 

 first quality. In August last he discontinued 

 the milking of a cow which he had designed 

 for fattening and turned her into[the summer 

 pasture with his young stock. 'On the first 

 of October he removed her to rowen feed and 

 commenced the feeding with apples. The 

 most she would have commanded in market 

 at this time, was thirteen to fourteen dollars. 

 He kept her twc weeks, giving her night and 

 morning as many apples as she would eat, 

 which was just about a bushel a day. The 

 thrift was such as to excite the particular no- 

 tice of himself and hired man, and equal to 

 that of any animal on any kind of food. At 

 the expiration of the seven weeks, he sold 

 her, and to be still better able to know the 

 results of his experiment, he rode tour miles 

 to see her slaughtered. A better beef is sel- 

 dom found than ihis proved to be. He receiv- 

 ed $28,30 for her, that is, $14,30 gain for 

 seven weeks, or allowing $2,30 for the pas- 

 turing, about two shillings a week, he re- 

 ceived $12,00 for the fifty bushels of apples 

 or at the rate of twenty-four cents per bushel. 

 Now these fifty bushels of apples converted 

 into cider, would yield six barrels. These in 

 1835, delivered at the distillery, would have 

 commanded from forty-two to fifty cents per 

 barrel, say $3,00 for the whole. In 1836, the 

 same delivered at the distillery would com- 

 mand fi-om seventy-five to eighty cents, say 



however, $6 for the whole. — According to 

 tlie last computation then, there is a gain of 

 $0 in favor of feeding apples. He fed at the 

 same time and in iiic same manner, a two 

 year old heifer, and with results most favora- 

 ble rather than less. Though not the largest 

 of his herd, she weighed on being slaughtered 

 573 ]!)s. What fiirmer who understands at all 

 the article of profit and loss in the use of the 

 products of his farm, and consults his pecu- 

 niary interests simply, will be surprised to 

 know that this gentleman has already com- 

 menced operation for constructing a cellar 

 under his barn for the purpose of preserving 

 his apples for feeding his stock during winter. 

 His orchards have produced 150 barrels of 

 cider and even more in a year which he has 

 sold to the distiller for fifty cents per barrel, 

 because he knew of no more profitable man- 

 ner of disposing of it. Now the quantity of 

 apples necessary to make 150 barrels of cider 

 upon the above estimate would yield accord 

 ing to the results of his experiment in feeding 

 this year $300, making a difference of $225, 

 no trifle, surely, in the products of one man's 

 orchard, or if you value the cider at one dol- 

 lar per barrel, the difference is $150, a tax 

 which no prudent farmer ought to pay for the 

 purpose of enriching the distiller of cider 

 brandy. But then to what can the farmer 

 feed out all the products of his orchard? He 

 will not wish surely to make so much beef 

 and pork as to consume the whole amount- 

 Let him feed them to his horses and cows and 

 young stock. By all the writers on the sub- 

 ject of raising stock, it is contended that 

 farmers greatly mistake their interests by 

 stinting their young cattle, or confining them 

 to such fodder during the winter as will 

 barely sustain life. Let the young stock be 

 treated to a moderate quantity of apples every 

 day and kept in good heart and thrift, and the 

 farmer will in the end realize his profit. In 

 view of these facts, good economy does not 

 urge the expediency of prostrating apple trees 

 that are thrifty and productive of good fruit. 

 Some trees there are which are literally cum- 

 berers of the ground. Let such be removed. 

 But let all others be protected, and when cir- 

 cumstances will permit, let their fruit be im- 

 proved by engrafting. 



Glass Ware. — It probably is not gener- 

 ally known, that glass ware may be tem- 

 pered so as not to be liable to crack when 

 filled with hot water, by merely boiling it in 

 water, which should be cold when the glass 

 is put into it, and then leaving it to cool 

 gradually in the water. If the ware is to be 

 exposed to a greater heat than that of boiling 

 water, it should be tempered in oil. 



